Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 5,108 Shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its holdings in shares of The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) by 11.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,952 shares of the credit services provider’s stock after selling 5,108 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Western Union were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Union during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Western Union during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Union by 500.5% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,312 shares of the credit services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,927 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Union in the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. 91.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WU. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $13.00 target price on shares of Western Union in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Western Union from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Western Union from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Western Union from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Union presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.43.

Western Union Price Performance

Shares of WU stock opened at $11.67 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.50 and its 200 day moving average is $12.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.91, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.85. The Western Union Company has a twelve month low of $10.92 and a twelve month high of $14.19.

Western Union (NYSE:WU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The credit services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Western Union had a return on equity of 120.23% and a net margin of 13.64%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Western Union Company will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Union Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Western Union’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.62%.

Western Union Profile

The Western Union Company provides money movement and payment services worldwide. The company operates through Consumer Money Transfer and Consumer Services segments. The Consumer Money Transfer segment facilitates money transfers for international cross-border and intra-country transfers, primarily through a network of retail agent locations, as well as through websites and mobile devices.